Samundar Soakh | سمندرسوکھ

Description

Samundar Soakh at sknatural are seeds of Argyreia speciosa LINN. It belongs to family “Convulvolaceae”. Its temperament is cold in second order and dry in third order. These seeds have bland taste while they are black in color. They are greasy and small in size. This plant is woody climber and generally, people use its roots, leaves, flowers and seeds.

Other names:

English: Elephant creeper, Woolly Morning-Glory

Hindi: Samandar-ka-pat, Samundarsokha, Ghav-patta

Bengal: Bichtarak, Guguli

Sindhi: Kantro

Recommended dosage;

3 to 5 g.

Morphology:

The seeds are more or less triangular, measuring 0.5 to 0.75 cm in length and up to 5 mm in breadth, with two flat or slightly concave sides and a convex third side. The hilum, distinctly brown in color, is rounded and situated in a spherical depression at the broader end. The outer surface may be glabrous or have whitish patches of pulp in some areas.

Furthermore, they possess a hard texture and are not easily breakable. Exalbuminous in nature, the seeds contain a large embryo with two-folded cotyledons and a distinct plumule ranging from whitish black to blackish brown in color. While lacking a characteristic odor, they have a slightly astringent taste.

Chemical constiuents:

The seeds of Argyreia speciosa yielded fatty oil, containing glycosides of palmitic, oleic, stearic, behenic, linoleic, and linolenic acid. Gas layer chromatography (GLC) analysis of the seed oil revealed myristoleic, myristic, palmitic, linoleic, linolenic, oleic, stearic, nonadecanoic, eicosenoic, heneicosanoic, and also behenic acids as their corresponding methyl esters.

Additionally, researchers identified branched fatty acids such as 12-methylmyristic acid and 15-methylstearic acid. Moreover, the ethanolic extract of the seeds contained a mixture of three alkaloids, among which only one was characterized as ergometrine. Other constituents isolated included caffeic acid and ethyl caffeate. They also reported Ergoline alkaloids, of clavine type.

Free amino acids detected in the seeds included glutamic acid, glycine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, praline, and also α-aminobutyric acid. The total crude protein content in the seeds was 30.6%, with albumin, globulin, and glutelin contents at 10.4%, 8.8%, and 10.6%, respectively. These findings suggest potential edible uses for the seeds.

Uses:

Generally, people use them as tonic. These seeds are also edible. It is an aphrodisiac and sedative. Moreover, it relieves urinary tract infections. Furthermore, physicians administer it alone or with other medicines as a powder or paste for increased flow, nocturnal emissions, and ejaculation speed.